This invention relates to a container for containing a prepared article such as a lipstick, a medical lip balm or a paste or a fixed article such as a cosmetic brush or a seal such that the article can be taken in and out by moving an operating knob forward and backward.
As a container of this type is, for example, known a stick-shaped prepared article container constructed such that a receiving tube holding a stick-shaped prepared article is accommodated in a tubular housing having an opening at its leading end and is movably supported in the longitudinal direction of the housing, a belt-shaped operative member is accommodated in the housing while being curved in U-shape and has one end thereof coupled to the receiving tube, the receiving tube is moved via the operative member by moving an operating knob mounted on the operative member from the outside of the housing forward and backward to take the stick-shaped prepared article in and out (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 58-112214).
Such a container normally has a split structure of splitting the housing into two pieces in radial direction, and is assembled by mounting the receiving tube and the operative member in a guide groove and the like formed in the inner side surface of one split piece beforehand and mounting the operative member and the like in a guide groove formed in the other split piece while joining the other split piece with the one split piece. Thus, this container has a problem of a poor assembling operability.
Specifically, it is necessary to curve the belt-shaped operative member in U-shape while fitting it into the guide grooves and join the two split pieces together while maintaining such a state. For example, if an attempt is made to join the other split piece with the one split piece with the operative member assembled with the one split piece, the operative member frequently comes out of the guide grooves of the split pieces due to an occurrence of springback, thereby causing a problem of taking excessive time and labor in assembling the container. Particularly, in the case that the operative member has a high rigidity or is folded at a large radius of curvature, springback is likely to occur, resulting in an even worse assembling operability.
Further, since the prepared article is thought to be pushed back into the container of this type by a reaction force when the prepared article is pressed against something on which the prepared article is to be applied, it is necessary to effectively prevent it.
On this point, the container disclosed in the above publication is so constructed as to fixedly hold the prepared article in position by the engagement of the operating knob with a projection-shaped stopper provided at a movable end of the operating knob. By using the prepared article with the operating knob engaged with the stopper, the prepared article can be prevented from being pushed back into the container. However, this container can fixedly hold the prepared article in position only when the prepared article is completely pushed out (only in a state where the prepared article is most pushed out), and it has been impossible to fixedly hold the prepared article at any desired position according to a remaining amount.
There have been proposed such containers incorporated with a mechanism for locking a prepared article that an operating knob is moved to take the prepared article in and out, for example, while being pushed in to cancel locking and, when hand is released from the operating knob at the time of using the prepared article, the operating knob returns to a locked state by an elastic force of a spring or elastic element to lock the prepared article at a desired pushed-out position (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 11-164730, 8-126525). However, these containers require two operations of: (1) pushing in the operating knob and (2) moving the operating knob when the prepared article is taken in and out and, accordingly, cumbersome to operate. Further, if the operating knob is forcibly moved by neglecting the operation (1), the locking mechanism may be damaged or broken.